Another atrocity, another city cares for its injured and mourns its dead.

This is not going away. Isis may very well be defeated militarily, but the battle will go on. Most probably for generations.

Jesus made it clear that until he returns, false messiahs, the horror of war, and natural disasters are the stuff of history. We live in a broken world (Mark 13:5-8).

The 20th Century was the most bloody — fuelled by secular ideologies of the left and the right. So far, the 21st Century belongs to a murderous religious ideology. Why are we surprised? Human history is a tale of woe.

There is a form of Christianity that can’t understand why a loving God would want to punish sin. They cannot accept that God’s judgment was poured out on the Son he loved in order that we could be forgiven. They don’t understand the dark reality of evil, and a holy love that will not let it pass.

The Cross was necessary — for God, not just for man.

There is hope, even for a suicide bomber, but only through the Cross of Christ. Forgiveness comes at a horrible price. God is just, holy and loving